Army
Bombards Northern Gaza
IMEMC 1 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 00:01, Israeli soldiers fired, on Friday
evening, a number of shells at the Izbit Abed-Rabbo area, east of
Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip., Local sources also
reported that at least one surface-to-surface missile was fired into
the area.

Dexia
Bank Refuses Grant For Jewish Settlements
IMEMC 1 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 22:42, The Belgian-French Group, Dexia,
refused to finance grants meant for the construction of property in
Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The decision came after a
Palestinian and a Belgium groups filed a petition against financing
settlement constructions.

PFLP
member sentenced to Five Life-Terms
IMEMC 1 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 20:27, An Israeli Court in Jerusalem
sentenced on Friday Ahed Abu Ghalama, head of the military wing of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), to five
life-terms and five additional years after indicting him of leading the
cell the assassinated the Israeli Tourism Minister on October 17, 2001.

Simultaneous
Solidarity Marches Held On Northern And Southern Borders Of Gaza Strip
IMEMC 1 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 17:07, As a group of Israeli peace activists
gathered near the Erez crossing on the northern border of the Gaza
Strip, 1200 international activists with the 'Gaza Freedom March' held
a rally in Cairo to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Israeli
invasion of Gaza. The Cairo march was attacked by Egyptian police,
injuring several demonstrators.

Anti-wall
activists say boy shot in head
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Israeli forces shot an eight-year-old Palestinian boy in the
head with a rubber-coated bullet in the West Bank village of Nil'in on
Friday afternoon, local activists said. The boy, who was not
identified, was taken to a Ramallah hospital for treatment, according
to the Popular Committee Against the Wall, which said he was sent home
with six stitches. The committee said in a statement that soldiers beat
and arrested two teenagers, identified only as residents of Shuqba, a
neighboring village, aged 15 and 17, and that Red Crescent volunteers
"tried to come to their rescue. Soldiers then assaulted one medical
volunteer - Juma'a Khawaja, he was beaten with a gun. " An Israeli
military spokesman said he was unaware of any injuries, but that "300
rioters threw rocks at security forces, who responded with riot-control
means. . . "

Israeli
jets pound targets across Gaza
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Israel's air force bombed at least two sites in the Gaza
Strip shortly after midnight Saturday, an official said. There were no
immediate reports of injuries. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed
that prior reports of explosions were caused by aircraft fire in
northern and southern Gaza. The spokesman told Ma'an the attacks
targeted "two terrorist tunnels" near the the Gaza-Israel border, which
he said were intended for attacks on targets inside Israel. He added
that the airstrikes came in retaliation for a mortar shell that was
fired on the Israeli city of Netivot on Thursday, as well as projectile
fire in general, which has increased over the past 24 hours. The
spokesman denied army involvement in a prior explosion near Jabaliya
refugee camp reported late Friday night, speculating that it was caused
by an errant projectile fired by Palestinians.

Report:
Settlement construction booming
1/2/2010 - Jerusalem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
professed 10-month settlement freeze, construction in dozens of
supposedly frozen areas is booming, an Israeli newspaper reported
Thursday. The Israeli daily Haaretz said reporters toured West Bank
settlements on Wednesday and witnessed work being carried out in the
Bakran and Ariel industrial zones, as well as the construction of
housing at Ariel, Elkana North, Peduel and Kfar Tapuah. The
construction, being carried out mostly east of the separation wall on
the eve of US special envoy George Mitchell's expected visit, continued
unabated despite the presence of Israeli patrols, the report said. A
sign at Kfar Tapuah announced plans for constructing 65 new housing
units, according to the newspaper. "In all the sites mentioned there is
evidence of heavy equipment preparing the ground for construction or
for the creation of suitable infrastructure," the report added. -- Link:Construction
in West Bank settlements booming despite declared freeze

Life
sentence for PFLP military leader
1/2/2010 - Jerusalem
- Ma'an - An Israeli court in Jerusalem sentenced A'hed Abu Ghulmah, a
leader of the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, to a life term and an additional five years of imprisonment.
He was previously charged with leading the military group that that
killed Israel's right-wing tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi, in October
2001 in response to the assassination of the PFLP's secretary-general,
Abu Ali Mustafa. Abu Ghulmah, from the village of Beit Furik east of
the West Bank city of Nablus, is married with three children. He was
arrested in March 2006 along with current PFLP secretary-general Ahmad
Sa'adat and others when the Israeli army broke into, destroyed and
abducted the group from the Palestinian Authority-controlled central
prison in Jericho. Israel also arrested Linan and Mohammad Abu Ghulma,
Ahed's sister and brother.

Israeli
forces shut down Hebron tree planting
1/1/2010 - Hebron -
Ma'an - Israeli authorities banned a group of Palestinians from
planting trees near the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday after
settlers disrupted their work, organizers said. Dozens of Palestinian
residents were planting trees in the Al-Buwiryah area, near the
settlement of Kiryat Arba, responding to a call from senior Fatah
leaders. Members of the group said settlers arrived in the area,
interrupting the planting. Israeli soldiers on the scene declared the
area a closed military zone and confiscated a number of trees,
participants said. The soldiers also ordered a Palestinian
photojournalist, Nasser Ash-Shyukhi, not to photograph the incident.
[end]

Gaza
crossings sealed
1/1/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Despite a scheduled opening on Friday, Israeli officials told
Palestinian liaison officers in Gaza that all three goods crossings
into the Strip would be closed, Raed Fattouh said. Crossings are
scheduled to run six days a week with closures on Saturdays for the
Israeli Saturday weekend marking Shabbat. Since August, however,
crossings have been operating only five days a week, with Israeli
officials announcing the closure Friday mornings. On Thursday, Israel
opened the Karem Shalom and Nahal Oz crossings for minimum amounts of
aid, commercial goods and cooking gas. [end]

Residents:
Israel shells northern Gaza
1/2/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Residents of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip blamed the
Israeli army for an explosion on Friday evening. Local sources told
Ma'an that at least one Israeli shell landed at around 8pm an area
believed to be used by guerillas to fire homemade rockets into Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman said there was no military activity in
Gaza at the time. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the
blast. A Palestinian armed group in Gaza said it fired five mortar
shells at Israeli forces east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza
Strip on Friday. The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the armed wing of
the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed the shelling in a
statement received by Ma'an. The Israeli military said that one shell
landed in an open area inside the Gaza Strip.

PRC:
Assassination attempt thwarted
1/1/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - An unidentified man carried bags of explosives to the office of
the Popular Resistance Committees Secretary General Abu Al-Qasem
Dughmush, but the bag failed to detonate, a statement from the party
said Friday. Officials in the party said they believed the move was an
assassination attempt and that "security apparatuses within the
movement" are searching the responsible party. A statement blamed
Israel for the move, and urged other resistance groups to step-up
cautionary procedures. "The bags were delivered by an unknown man from
a car rental office," a statement explained, noting the involvement of
local de facto government security officials in the search for the
perpetrators. PRC denounced the reported attack, saying the movement
would "stick to the option of resistance," despite the incident.

Gaza
police - legitimate targets or targeted civilians?
1/2/2010 - Part six
of a series recounting the findings of South African jurist Richard
Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. - Jerusalem
"” Ma'an "” As Israel's massive air assault entered its sixth
consecutive day on New Year's Day one year ago, some 410 Gazans were
dead and as many as 2,000 injured. Among 70 airstrikes on 40 targets on
1 January 2009 was a police command center in Rafah, the then-latest
security site to be leveled. No one was hurt in that attack, but 248
members of the Gaza police were killed during Israel's overall assault.
By late January 2009, more than one out of every six casualties was a
member of the de facto government's security forces. On the same day,
Gaza police spokesperson Islam Shahwan announced to the media that
police commanders had managed to hold three meetings at secret
locations since the beginning of the assault.

Palestinians
detained on New Year’s Day
1/1/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Israeli military said on Friday it detained two
Palestinians northwest of Ramallah. The two, who were detained due to
their "wanted" status, were not immediately identified. Also on Friday
a university student was seized from his home in the village of Madama,
south of Nablus, by Israeli soldiers, local officials said. The head of
Madama's municipal council, Hassan Zeyada, said Israeli forces invaded
the town and took Huthaifa Farid Zeyada, 19, from his home in the
eastern side of the village, and then withdrew from the area. Zeyada is
a student at An-Najjah University in Nablus. [end]

Anti-wall
protesters express solidarity with Gaza
1/1/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades at
Palestinian, Israeli, and international demonstrators in at least three
West Bank villages on Friday. In the village of Bil'in, west of
Ramallah, protesters marched toward the separation wall that Israel is
building on the town's land. The village's Popular Committee said this
week's demonstration carried a message of solidarity with Palestinians
in Gaza, marking the one-year anniversary of the military offensive
that killed more than 1,400 people. The Popular Committee said in a
statement: "When the march reached the gate of the Apartheid Wall the
Israeli military stationed on the other side of the wall immediately
responded by throwing tear-gas at the demonstrators and shooting sound
grenades. " "Despite the violence from the army, the demonstrators
managed to open the gate in the wall in an. . . "

Israeli
child’s smile thwarts suicide attack
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - "While I was at the spot targeted for the operation, a child
glanced at me and smiled; I smiled back, deciding not to blow myself
up, as I didn't want to kill an innocent. "That's what 27-year-old Arin
Ahmed Shaebat from the city of Beit Sahour, east of Bethlehem, said
last week in an interview with Israeli TV after serving seven years in
prison. Arin had planned to blow herself up in 2002, armed with a
handbag packed with 30 kilograms of explosives. Asked why, she said
that "ever since the beginning of the intifada (uprising), Palestinians
had lost most of the their sense of normality. "We, as humans, want to
live like any other nation, so I had to do something to change the
reality. I contacted the Al-Aqsa Brigades and I told them, 'I want to
do something. '"The brigades chose to carry out the attack in Reshon
Letzion, north of Tel Aviv, along with 16-year-old Issa Bdeir. . . . "

Israeli
Warplanes, Tanks Strike Eastern, Southern Gaza Strip
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Israeli F16 warplanes and tanks had carried out late on Friday
night five successive air and ground strikes on targets in eastern and
southern Gaza Strip, wounding five people, medics and witnesses said.
The witnesses said that Israeli F16 warplane fired two missiles, while
tanks fired two shells that all landed at empty zones east and...

sraeli Warplanes,
Tanks Strike Eastern, Southern Gaza Strip
Uruknet January,
2010 - Israeli F16 warplanes and tanks had carried out late on Friday
night five successive air and ground strikes on targets in eastern and
southern Gaza Strip, wounding five people, medics and witnesses said.
The witnesses said that Israeli F16 warplane fired two missiles, while
tanks fired two shells that all landed at empty zones east and
northeast...

Residents: Israel
shells northern Gaza
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Residents of Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip blamed the
Israeli army for an explosion on Friday evening. Local sources told
Ma'an that at least one Israeli shell landed at around 8pm an area
believed to be used by guerillas to fire homemade rockets into
Israel... Earlier on Friday the PRC blamed Israel for an attempt...

Iranian Cleric
Haeri Shirazi: Don't Arrest The Protesters; Kill Them!
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - In a candid and shocking appearance on Iran's state television,
a leading Iranian cleric ayatollah stated that instead or arresting and
suppressing the opposition protesters, it would be better to kill them.
"The more of them are killed, the more beneficial. If the armed forces
kill some of them, it is to our benefit." Ayatollah Mehyaddin...

Gaza Freedom
March Wrap Up
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - I'm sure its going to take me some time to process everything
that has happened in Cairo with the Gaza Freedom March over the past
week or so but here are some of my initial thoughts and feelings. Bear
in mind, these are my own opinions and reflections and they surely are
not the same as...

Gaza One Year
After. The World Has Changed.
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - In this holiday season, we celebrate the birth of Christ, and
the message of brotherly love, compassion, and forgiveness. This year
we also commemorate the first anniversary of Israeli's punitive
aggression against the civilian population of Gaza, a conflict that
left 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead, and thousands wounded.
The toll taken in economic, social,...

Israeli
settlements 'witness boom'
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Despite the suspension of settlement growth announced by the
Israel government in December, dozens of illegal settlements in the
West Bank are experiencing a building boom, an Israeli newspaper
reports. The revelation by Haaretz comes on the eve of another visit to
the region by George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy,
to try to restart...

WE MUST NOT LOSE
SIGHT WHO THE REAL ENEMY OF GAZA IS
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Recent reports from the Viva Palestina Convoy have dealt with
problems they are having entering Gaza due to Egyptian interference. It
is easy to get the impression that Egypt is the real enemy..... this is
NOT the case at all. Egypt is a part of the zioaxis of evil and are
only doing what the Israeli...

Israeli Arab MK:
Barak enjoys classical music and killing Gaza children
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Some 1,000 people, among them all of Israel's Arab MKs and
community leaders, gathered Thursday at the Israeli side of the Gaza
border to express solidarity with the residents of Gaza, one year after
Israel's offensive there. MK Taleb A-Sana relayed Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh's message to the Israeli side via a mobile phone. During the...

Gaza: the rains
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - It's pouring rain. Farmers are collectively breathing relief,
finally able to begin working on their parched land, land deprived
water because Israeli bombing, tanks and bulldozers destroyed virtually
all of the wells, cisterns, and rain-water collectors of farms in the
border regions. I'm breathing many sighs of relief, because the rain is
fresh, brings life, brings...

Is Congress
planning to destroy every Middle East TV Channel that criticizes Israel?
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - ... Having inherited the Bush administrations rising stack of
terrorism lists, President Obama's team had expressed interest in
culling them "so they are more accurate and manageable and Americans
experience less stress", according to Homeland Security director Janet
Napolitano. These lists, plus the reported existence of others that
have not been made public, are supposed to reduce...

Researchers: US
Arms Used for War Crimes in Gaza
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - Israel's repeated firing of US-made white phosphorus shells over
densely populated areas of Gaza during its recent military campaign was
indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes, Human Rights Watch said
in a report released March 25, 2009. The seventy-one-page report, "Rain
of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza," provides
witness accounts of...

For
Publication: A week of Actions to Remember Gaza victims
London, December 31,
(Pal Telegraph) - Several Organizations are preparing for a memorial
week for the Palestinian victims over the past 60 years. The
organizations are picking the last week of the barbaric attacks on Gaza
“Gaza genocide-war” to be the yearly annual week to mark the suffering
thousands of Palestinians who passed the mayhem and exile. The actions
are...

The
Occupied West Bank Latroun Villages - by Stephen Lendman
US, December 31,
2009 (Pal Telegraph)- On June 6, 1967, when Israeli forces invaded Gaza
and the West Bank, on the second day of the so-called Six-Day War (June
5 - 10, 1967), they entered three Palestinian villages in the Latroun
salient - Imwas, Yalo and Beit Nouba, forcibly expelling the residents,
numbering over 10,000 at the time. By the next...

Israel's
East Jerusalem Linked Settlement Expansion - by Stephen Lendman
US, December 31,
2009 (Pal Telegraph)- On February 1, 2009, the International Solidarity
Movement reported that Israel continues its E 1 area homes and
infrastructure work that includes linking its Ma'ale Adummim settlement
with East Jerusalem and other settlements around it. It said Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert, while in office, promised to expand E 1
development - the land northeast of...

Gaza
Water Reservoirs Almost Dry
Gaza, December 31,
2009 (Pal Telegraph) - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
has said that water reservoirs in the Gaza Strip are almost dry, that
would increase the harshness of life for the 1.5 million Palestinians
living in the Strip. A UNEP report Wednesday said that water resources
in the Gaza Strip had been exhausted by overuse in addition...

Israel
Detains 11 Palestinians
West Bank, December
31, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - At dawn on Thursday, Israeli occupation
forces kidnapped 11 Palestinians from different governorates in West
Bank. Israeli occupation forces continue to arrest and attack different
areas in West Bank. They detained 11 citizens whose ages around 18-22,
claiming that they are "wanted". Palestinian local agencies reported
that Israeli occupation forces raided Ramallah,...

Stalled
peace process widens Fatah-Hamas divide
The National 31 Dec
2009 - Though experts predicted the assault by Israel would unite Gaza
and the West Bank within a matter of weeks, distrust and animus
continues to fester in the tattered region.

Beyond
Commemoration: Operation Cast Lead One Year After
Alternative
Information Center 29 Dec 2009 - Three hundred and sixty five days
after the beginning of the Operation “Cast Lead,” what characterizes
these days is silence. The silence of those who didn't survive—those
1,400 people killed by bombings in Gaza. Three hundred...

Pink
Floyd's Roger Waters Speaks Out in Support of Gaza Freedom March
PNN 31 Dec 2009 - In
a Democracy Now! exclusive interview, British musician Roger Waters of
the iconic rock band Pink Floyd speaks out about the Gaza Freedom
March. “I actually would be very interested to hear what the President
of the United States has to say about this nonviolent, democratic
demonstration of ordinary people from forty-two countries all over the
world,” says Waters. “They feel solidarity...

AT-TUWANI:
Israeli settler violence against children
PNN 31 Dec 2009 - An
Israeli settler from the outpost of Havat Ma'on (Hill 833) chased and
threw stones at Palestinian schoolchildren from the villages of Tuba
and Maghayir Al-Abeed. The Israeli army exposed the children to this
attack by arriving more than 90 minutes late to escort the children to
their school in the village of At-Tuwani.The schoolchildren had been
waiting for the army escort...

Holocaust
Survivor Goes on Hunger Strike for Gaza
PNN 31 Dec 2009 -
BEIRUT -- An 85-year-old Holocaust survivor entered the second day of
her hunger strike on Tuesday, in protest over the Egyptian government's
refusal to allow an international Palestinian solidarity march to enter
the Gaza Strip. American peace activist Hedy Epstein came to Cairo as
part of an international delegation with participants from 43
countries. The delegation had planned to join Palestinians in...

MIDEAST: Gaza
March Puts Spotlight on Civilian Suffering
IPS UNITED NATIONS,
Dec 22 (IPS) - More than 50,000 people are expected to take to the
streets of Gaza on Dec. 31 for a mass march designed to send a message
to the United States, a key supporter of Israel's army, that the
situation in Gaza violates international human rights...

MIDEAST: 'Prince
of Peace' - Obama or Netanyahu?
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 1
(IPS) - United States President Barack Obama’s intended broad Mideast
policies are running into the complexities of peacemaking - especially
after the ‘Prince of Peace’ began insisting on the necessity of,
sometimes, fighting for peace.

Q&A:
''Israeli Settlements Killing Two-Nation Solution''
IPS JERUSALEM, Dec
30 (IPS) - In the absence of any progress towards peace between
Israelis and Palestinians, leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA)
are adopting a reasonable approach as a way of building up
international pressure on Israel to get it back to the negotiating
table.

Thousands
protesting the Siege of Gaza face repression from local authorities
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - 31 December - Hundreds of
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah rally in
solidarity with the Gaza Freedom March on New Year's Eve DayThousands
of people in Egypt, the besieged Gaza Strip, Israel, and the occupied
West Bank rallied on New Year's Eve Day to call for an end to the
international blockade and siege of Gaza, but the protests were marred
by police brutality in Cairo and the cancellation of a solidarity
action in the occupied West Bank town of Tulkarm at the behest of the
Palestinian Authority. In Cairo, Egyptian riot police brutally beat
Gaza Freedom March demonstrators who were unable to enter the Gaza
Strip after the Egyptian government permitted less than 100 of the
1,350 participants from crossing the Rafah border into Gaza. "Members
of the Gaza Freedom March are being forcibly detained in hotels around
town, in Lotus and Liala, as well as. . . "

Gaza Freedom
March activists target Egypt’s complicity
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - Sayed Dhansay, The Electronic
Intifada, 31 December - It was another eventful day here in Cairo at
the inaugural Gaza Freedom March (GFM). On Tuesday night, organizers
informed the 1,362-strong delegation that only 100 of them had been
selected to travel to Gaza yesterday morning, Wednesday 30 December.
After several hours of heated debate with organizers over whether this
was an appropriate strategy, the meeting concluded without a consensus.
As of Tuesday night, only the South African, French, Canadian and
Swedish delegations had decided to boycott the 100-person convoy.
Although an incredibly tough decision to make, the groups adopted this
principled stance because they felt that the offer was divisive and
betrayed the very aim of the march - to break the siege imposed on
Gaza. These delegations refused to further legitimize and reinforce the
Egyptian government's policy of occasionally allowing small aid convoys
into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Palestinian
citizens of Israel protest outside of Erez Crossing: End Israeli
blockade of Gaza
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - The Alternative Information Center
- 31 December - Over 1,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel and several
dozen Jewish Israelis demonstrated this morning outside of the Erez
Crossing, demanding an end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Organised by the Arab High Monitoring Committee, the demonstration
coincided with the one year anniversary of Israel's military attacks on
the Gaza Strip, which resulted in 1,400 deaths and thousands wounded.
"The Israeli war against the Palestinians of Gaza continues one year
later," said Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka (Balad) at the protest. "We
demand an immediate end to the Israeli siege, and that the Israeli
criminal leaders who implement this dirty war be brought before
international tribunals before they start another war," he added. A
demonstration on the Gaza side of the border was conducted
simultaneously, joined by over 80 delegates from Gaza Freedom March.

Gaza Freedom
March activists refuse to be silent!
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - Action for Peace, 31 December - The
Italian delegation of Action for Peace at the Gaza Freedom March walked
today in the streets of Cairo with all other delegations in solidarity
with the Palestinian people, to call for an end of the siege on Gaza,
the end of the Israeli occupation, the respect of international law and
human rights. Even though the march was immediately stopped and some
activists were injured by the Egyptian police, we succeeded in
organizing a sit-in for about 8 hours in the square of the Egyptian
Museum, that became today the Gaza Freedom Square. At midnight we
gathered again in Tahrir Square to write our solidarity to Gaza with
candels on the ground. We came to Egypt with the goal of entering Gaza
and breaking the siege through a nonviolent demonstration but we were
prevented even from reaching the border. The government allowed a
delegation of 100 people to enter Gaza in order to bring humanitarian
aid, certainly a positive act, but we are here for much more.

Bil’in
demonstrators call for the end of the Siege of Gaza
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - Bil'in Popular Committee Against
the Wall and Settlements - Residents of Bil'in gathered today after the
noon prayers to demonstrate against the Israeli occupation and the
Apartheid Wall on to commemorate the first anniversary of the brutal
Israeli aggression on Gaza. In addition, they celebrated the 45th
anniversary of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, Fatah. The
demonstration, organized by the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the
Wall and Settlements, was joined by dozens of international and Israeli
activists as well as members of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, the
Palestinian National Liberation Movement Fatah and the Palestine
Liberation Front. Commemorating the first anniversary of the Israeli
assault on Gaza, demonstrators marched through the village towards the
site of the Apartheid Wall and chanted slogans expressing their
solidarity with. . .

Candle-light
vigil held in Manger Square, Bethlehem to commemorate Gaza
1/1/2010 -
International Solidarity Movement - Photos - IMEMC, 31 December - At
4:30 this afternoon residents of Bethlehem and the surrounding towns
gathered to commemorate the 1,500 Palestinians that lost their lives
this time last year, and stand in solidarity with the residents of
Gaza, who continue to live under siege from the Israeli military; a
situation that has continued since June 2006. The vigil was held in
Manger Square, bordered with The Church of the Nativity. After a brief
introduction given by a young girl from the town, those in attendance
received a call from Dr. Haidar Eid, from inside the Gaza Strip. Dr.
Eid is an associate professor in the Department of English Literature,
AL-Aqsa University, Gaza Strip and also works as a grass roots
activist. Dr. Eid spoke of the necessity of the ending of the siege on
Gaza, and thanked those in attendance, both local residents of the
Bethlehem municipality and internationals alike.

PA:
No word from Israel on peace summit
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010
- The Palestinian Authority on Friday said it has not received an
official request for a proposed meeting between Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that would restart
peace negotiations, Ma'an news agency reported. ...

Kindertransport
refugee knighted by Queen Elizabeth
Ha'aretz 1 Jan 2010
- Erich Reich, one of thousands of Kindertransport children sent from
Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in Britain during World War II, was
among the people knighted by Queen Elizabeth as part of the annual New
Year's Honours list, the Telegraph reported Thursday. ...

Netanyahu
proposes peace summit with Abbas this month
Ha'aretz 1 Jan 2010
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed meeting with
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later this month in the Egyptian
resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, government sources said Thursday. ...

Construction
in West Bank settlements booming despite declared freeze
Ha'aretz 1 Jan 2010
- Despite the construction freeze, dozens of settlements in the West
Bank are experiencing a building boom, even on the eve of another visit
to the region by U.S. envoy George Mitchell to try to restart talks for
a final settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. ...

Jews
among hundreds to protest against blockade of Gaza Strip
The Guardian 31 Dec
2009 - Hundreds of demonstrators rallied on opposite sides of an
Israeli-Gaza border crossing today to protest at the blockade of the
strip imposed by Egypt and Israel. In Gaza, about 100 international
activists staged a rally with...

Efrat
rabbi retracts praise for 'Rabbi Jesus' over Orthodox ire
Ha'aretz 1 Jan 2010
- Defending himself from scathing criticism for a video in which he
refers to Jesus as "a model rabbi," a well-respected Anglo rabbi said
this week that while his terminology was "inappropriate," the poorly
edited video mauled his message. The current incident is the second
time this year that Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the New York-born Orthodox
rabbi of Efrat, had to clarify a controversial statement regarding
Jewish-Christian relations. ...

2
Gaza mortars fired towards Negev region
YNet News 1 Jan 2010
- After two weeks of relative calm on southern border, terror groups
attack Israel for third day in a row; one mortar lands in open Negev
area, the other in Palestinian territory

Ultra-Orthodox
Jews make rare visit to Gaza
YNet News 1 Jan 2010
- Four American, Canadian members of Neturei Karta prepare to celebrate
Sabbath in Palestinian Territory. 'It's crucial that people of Gaza
understand the terrible tragedy here is not in the name of Judaism,'
one of them says

Report:
2 Palestinians injured by settlers' stones
YNet News 1 Jan 2010
- Osama and Ziad Suan's car attacked with stones near settlement of
Yakir while making its way to Ramallah. Their cousin says relatives
hospitalized in serious condition. IDF forces dispatched to area
following complaints of stone throwing

Some
signs of movement seen in stalled Mideast peace process
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Israeli and Palestinian officials suggested on Wednesday progress
had been made toward resuming negotiations following Egyptian-Israeli
talks on a year-long deadlock in the Middle East peace process. The
cautiously upbeat comments followed talks in Cairo on Tuesday between
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.

Senior
cleric tells Iran's opposition leaders to either repent or face death
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Hundreds of thousands of government supporters took to Iran's
streets on Wednesday in a show of force against the opposition, with a
senior cleric telling their leaders to repent or be declared enemies of
God and face death. Just hours later, state news agency IRNA reported
that top opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had
fled the capital fearing for their lives.

Jordan
jails man for 10 years over 'honour killing'
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 A Jordanian court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 10 years in
prison on Wednesday after convicting him of killing his teenage
daughter last year to "defend his honor," a judicial official said. "In
2008, the 17-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped by a group of men,
who are currently on trial," the official said. "But the father
suspected that his daughter was involved in a sexual relationship.

Yemeni
security forces storm Al-Qaeda hide-out
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Yemeni security forces stormed an Al-Qaeda hide-out Wednesday in a
principle militant stronghold in the country's west, setting off
clashes, officials said, as a security chief vowed to fight the group's
powerful local branch until it was eliminated. A government statement
said at least one suspected Al-Qaeda member was arrested during the
fighting in Hudaydah province.

Dozens
dead in clashes in northern Nigeria
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Dozens more bodies were recovered Wednesday after violent clashes
between security forces and Islamists in northern Nigeria, bringing the
death toll to around 70, a count at a hospital morgue
showed. An AFP reporter listed 42 bodies on the floor of the morgue in
Bauchi, all with bullet or machete wounds. Another 25 bodies, mostly
young people including minors.

Berri
defends his call for steps toward abolishing sectarianism
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri highlighted on Wednesday the
motives behind his call to form a committee tasked with abolishing
political sectarianism, while his demand drew renewed criticism from
parliamentary majority figures. In a memo issued by the speaker's press
office and distributed to diplomatic missions in Lebanon, Berri
explained the constitutional grounds behind his call.

Reforestation
campaign relaunched
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal re-launched on Wednesday a
campaign to reforest Lebanon with the collaboration of Lebanon Green
Again Organization. The campaign started last year under the patronage
of former Environment Minister Tony Karam and aimed at reforesting
Lebanon using Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) helicopters.

Hassan
Nasrallah made four mistakes
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 In his Ashoura speech this past weekend, Hizbullah's secretary
general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, irritated many Christians. He
recommended that they take stock of their situation, especially, as he
described it, the mistaken wager that some Christians once placed on
Israel; but also, Nasrallah implied, their more recent dependence on
the West in general and the United States in particular.

Government
broadband bungling has left Lebanon in the Dark Ages
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 The absence of a proper broadband network in Lebanon is affecting
the flow of investments to the country according to Lebanese
Information Technology (IT) professionals. "Many foreign investors are
reluctant to establish businesses in Lebanon due to low speed of
broadband connectivity which affects their production capacity," said
Amer Tabsh, a professional technical adviser.

American
Task Force celebrates final days of 2009 in style
Daily Star 1 Jan
2010 What more fitting event to mark the final installment of this
column for 2009 than the reception for the American Task Force in
Lebanon, hosted at the Achrafieh residence of Nadine Moussa on December
3. A select group of less than 100 people attended the seasonal
occasion, not least George Kody, Alfred Tueni, Philippe and Diane
Abdeni, Joanna and Richard Seikaly, Salima al-Rassi and, Sam Hamra.

The
return of Shawar
PIC 1 Jan 2010 -
Shawars and traitors will go down the dustbin of history. This is their
natural place, and it doesn’t make any difference whether the traitor
serves a Crusader king or a modern evil entity.

Mousavi's
nephew had received threats, friends say
LA Times 1 Jan 2010
- Ali Habibi-Mousavi, killed near last weekend's protests in Iran, was
not known as an outspoken opposition supporter. Some activists say his
shooting was an attempt to silence reform leaders. During the dark
years of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the teenage Ali Habibi-Mousavi
returned home from the front for weeklong visits. Amid the gloom, the
young Iranian militiaman was full of good cheer for his mother, who
couldn't stop showering him with tears of relief and worry.

Opposition
leader Mousavi denounces Iran's crackdown
LA Times 1 Jan 2010
- In his first public comments since the recent protests, Mir-Hossein
Mousavi calls for a restoration of civil liberties and said threats
against his life would not deter him. Defying demands for his
execution, Iran's leading opposition figure on Friday issued a scathing
denunciation of the government's violent crackdown against his
supporters, calling for a restoration of civil liberties as a way of
ending what he described as a "serious crisis" that has destabilized
the nation.

Iranian
immigrant's training by militia stalls residency bid
LA Times 1 Jan 2010
- The Carlsbad resident said he got just five hours of self-defense
training during the Iran-Iraq war. Immigration officials say the group
was designated a terrorist organization at the time. It was in the
first few weeks of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, and Sadegh Behrouz Vazeri
was a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Tehran.

Iran
government supporters rally in Tehran
LA Times 31 Dec 2009
- Demonstrators call for the death of opponents of the hard-line
government and decry the opposition after a weekend of large-scale
protests, for which leaders blame the West. Tens of thousands of
Iranians backing the country's rulers rallied in central Tehran on
Wednesday, calling for the death of antigovernment protesters and
opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Standoff
in Iran Deepens with New Show of Force
New York Times 1 Jan
2010 - Hundreds of security forces filled the streets of Tehran to
deter protests on New Year’s Day, as the leader of the opposition said
he did not fear to give his life to his cause.

A
Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing
New York Times 31
Dec 2009 - The friendship between two children in a hospital — a
Palestinian and an Israeli — has drawn their parents into a kinship
that defies national struggle.

In
Tehran, Thousands Rally to Back Government
New York Times 31
Dec 2009 - The chants of the crowds on Wednesday — and Sunday — spoke
to the depth of the schism in Iranian society since the disputed
presidential elections in June.

Meet
the Post-zionist Zionists: Hanny Ben Israel
Mondoweiss - 1 Jan
2010 - This post is part of a week-long series of interviews with
Jewish Israelis discussing their connection to the idea of Zionism. We
hope this series will spark a conversation over the what Zionism means
today. For more on these interviews see this post . Hanny Ben Israel...

Updates
from the Cairo protests
Mondoweiss - 31 Dec
2009 - Protest and police in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. (Photo: diptychal )
Mondoweiss reader Michael Brown sent this : I finally found my Dad in
the crowd. We were split up when he was pulled out first by the head. I
got a vicious kick to the ribs around that...

ArticlesGaza
drivers, rumours and Egypt’s steel wall
Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an
News Agency 12/31/2009
Those pesky
taxi drivers of Gaza are always circulating rumors. One story that made
the rounds during the first Palestinian uprising in 1987 claimed that
an Arab army crossed the Sinai desert to save Palestinians from the
daily killings and protracted state of siege which caused untold
suffering for civilians.
The army in question would change from time to time, but the focus
inevitably returned to Egypt. The rumor of an Egyptian military
intervention persevered through the years, and it registered deeply in
Palestinian psyche, especially among those living in Gaza.
My father, as many in his generation, fought in the Egyptian army
and the Palestinian Liberation Army. Following defeat in the war of
1967, he was hauled along wounded and dead Egyptian soldiers across
Sinai, as well as on a floating army bridge over the Suez Canal under
intense Israeli aerial bombardment. As a child, I once accompanied him
on a journey to an impoverished neighborhood in Cairo to look for an
Egyptian war buddy of his. When we found out that he was long dead, my
father wept. Confused and scared among the ailing buildings, I too
cried. Indeed, the bond between Egyptians and Palestinians is
historical, everlasting, cemented in blood, sweat and tears.
Yes, everlasting, despite the responses of the Egyptian government
to the more recent suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
When the Palestinian people democratically elected Hamas to lead
the Palestinian legislature in 2006, they were aware of the possible
repercussions. They have become accustomed to the "˜collective
punishment"™ employed every time actions fail to meet Israeli
expectations. They also understand well the influence of the pro-Israel
lobby on American foreign policy, and know of Cairo"™s commitment to
political "˜moderation"™ and unabashed tiptoeing to the US. But never,
in their wildest imagination did Palestinians foresee the measures that
Egypt would take to stifle their democratic decision, suppress their
resistance and cut off the very lifelines that keep Gaza breathing.more..e-mail

Peace
With Justice In 2010 ~~ 25 Ways To Make It A Reality
Mazin Qumsiyeh,
PhD, Desert Peace 12/31/2009
A year ago,
in the midst of the savage attack on Gaza, we in the Palestinian Center
for Rapprochement between People in Beit Sahour issued a call for
action composed of 25 things that ordinary people can do (list below).
Today we are gathering in Bethlehem (Nativity Square 4-6 PM) in the
last day of the year. Bethlehemite Children will read the names of
close to 400 children murdered in Gaza a year ago and to pledge that in
2010 we will intensify our efforts including with boycotts, divestments
and sanctions. The event in the square of the church of nativity.
It is fitting that attendance at this event will be higher than
expected before because many of the people who were supposed to go to
Gaza and were prevented by the puppet government in Egypt (acting on
behalf of Israel) have instead come to join us here. For news and
details about the travails of the Gaza Freedom March, see [link
follows]. Seven of them who are staying in my house (plus an eighth who
also was supposed to go to Gaza but decided it is not going to work
out) attended our planning meeting and stayed up last night with me and
my wife making hangings for the tree. Each hanging/”decoration” has the
name and age of one of the children from Gaza on one side and on the
other side is the sticker carrying the words Freedom, Equality, Return
and a call to boycott Israel. Each will be appropriately hung by a
child from Bethlehem remembering a child from Gaza.
On this last day of the year as we reflect on the last year in
Palestine where it was filled with hope, began with Children and ending
with children (and youth and young at heart from around the world). We
reflect on the hundreds of new people we met, on the excellent and
productive year of activism, on finishing my book, and most of all on
the blessings of activism, the best and most sure recipe for happiness.
With your help, may the new year bring us all peace with justice. --
See also:Gaza Freedom
Marchmore..e-mail

Welcome
to Orwell’s World 2010
John Pilger,
Information Clearing House 12/30/2009Behind much of this are the
Israelis, who have long advised the Americans in both the Iraq and
Afghanistan adventures.
InNineteen
Eighty-Four, George Orwell described a superstate called Oceania,
whose language of war inverted lies that “passed into history and
became truth. ‘Who controls the past’, ran the Party slogan, ‘controls
the future: who controls the present controls the past’.”
Barack Obama is the leader of a contemporary Oceania. In two
speeches at the close of the decade, the Nobel Peace Prize winner
affirmed that peace was no longer peace, but rather a permanent war
that “extends well beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan” to “disorderly
regions and diffuse enemies”. He called this “global security” and
invited our gratitude. To the people of Afghanistan, which America has
invaded and occupied, he said wittily: “We have no interest in
occupying your country.”
In Oceania, truth and lies are indivisible. According to Obama,
the American attack on Afghanistan in 2001 was authorised by the United
Nations Security Council. There was no UN authority. He said the “the
world” supported the invasion in the wake of 9/11 when, in truth, all
but three of 37 countries surveyed by Gallup expressed overwhelming
opposition. He said that America invaded Afghanistan “only after the
Taliban refused to turn over [Osama] bin Laden”. In 2001, the Taliban
tried three times to hand over bin Laden for trial, reported Pakistan’s
military regime, and were ignored. Even Obama’s mystification of 9/11
as justification for his war is false. More than two months before the
Twin Towers were attacked, the Pakistani foreign minister, Niaz Naik,
was told by the Bush administration that an American military assault
would take place by mid-October. The Taliban regime in Kabul, which the
Clinton administration had secretly supported, was no longer regarded
as “stable” enough to ensure America’s control over oil and gas
pipelines to the Caspian Sea. It had to go.more..e-mail

Targeting
human rights defendersElectronic
Intifada:1 Jan
2010 - Israel still believes it can act with impunity. It will only
stop if there is a cost to its human rights violations. Appeals to the
Israeli authorities to respect due process are not enough, as Omar
Barghouti put it in a call to redouble efforts for boycott, divestment
and sanctions (BDS). Israel will only change if it "gets the message
that its arrest of civil resistance leaders will only intensify the
already massive BDS campaigns against it." Nadia Hijab comments.

Gaza
Freedom March activists target Egypt's complicityElectronic
Intifada:31 Dec
2009 - While it was deeply disappointing for the nearly 1,400 delegates
with the Gaza Freedom March who came from 43 countries that they could
not physically be in Gaza today, this was a momentous and historic
gathering of justice-loving people from every corner of the globe,
united by their common desire to see Gaza free. On the eve of a new
year, the crowd vowed to do everything in their power to make 2010 the
year that the siege of Gaza is finally and forever broken. Sayed
Dhansay reports from Cairo.

New
year in Gaza reopens wounds of oldElectronic
Intifada:31 Dec
2009 - GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - For many survivors of the
last Israeli war on Gaza, time has not healed their wounds, physical or
emotional. Halil Amal Samouni, 10, still suffers vision problems in her
right eye. The shrapnel remaining in her head causes her constant pain
and she is unable to concentrate at school.

the rainsIn Gaza:31 Dec 2009 - It’s pouring
rain. Farmers are collectively breathing relief, finally able to begin
working on their parched land, land deprived of water because Israeli
bombing, tanks and bulldozers destroyed virtually all of the wells,
cisterns, and rain-water collectors of farms in the border regions. I’m
breathing many sighs of relief, because the rain is fresh, brings life,
brings a needed feeling of growth… But the family of Saleh Abu Leila ,
with their 14 family members crammed into 1.5 tents (half the tent is
occupied by a refrigerator) of poor-quality, torn fabric will be
sighing with much less relief, as water seeps in through rips and
breaks in the tent, floods the door,...

Remember
Gaza, Read the Book, Spread the WordPalestine
Chronicle:31 Dec
2009 - Order Your Copy Today Through Amazon or Pluto Press. Product
Details Paperback: 320 pages Publisher: Pluto Press (January 2010)
Language: English ISBN-10: 0745328814 ISBN-13: 978-0745328812
Description The frontline in the conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians, Gaza is constantly reported as a place of violence and
terror. Ramzy Baroud's memoir explores the daily lives of the people in
that turbulent region: the complex human beings -- revolutionaries,
mothers and fathers, lovers, and comedians -- who make Gaza so much
more than just a disputed territory. At the heart of Baroud's tale is
the story of his father who, driven out of his village to a refugee
camp, took up arms to fight the occupation while trying to raise a
family. Ramzy Baroud: "This is a book about Gaza. It is also a book
about my family, and in particular my father, how they moved from
living as Palestinian farmers, growing their own crops, to fleeing for
their lives and ending up in a Gaza refugee camp. Throughout the book I
spell out the context of the Zionist invasion, and interweave my family
story within the wider history of my people and the destruction of
their old ways of life. So far we have many books from Israelis, some
sympathetic and others not, regarding the events that led to the
creation of the State of Israel, and its later expansion. But there is
really very little that tells the story from those of us who lost
everything. I am proud to...

On
Gaza Drivers, Rumours and Egypt's Steel WallPalestine
Chronicle:31 Dec
2009 - By Ramzy Baroud Those pesky taxi drivers of Gaza are always
circulating rumours. One story that made the rounds during the first
Palestinian uprising in 1987 claimed that an Arab army crossed the
Sinai desert to save Palestinians from the daily killings and
protracted state of siege which caused untold suffering for civilians.
The army in question would change from time to time, but the focus
inevitably returned to Egypt. The rumour of an Egyptian military
intervention persevered through the years, and it registered deeply in
Palestinian psyche, especially among those living in Gaza. My father,
as many in his generation, fought in the Egyptian army and the
Palestinian Liberation Army. Following defeat in the war of 1967, he
was hauled along wounded and dead Egyptian soldiers across Sinai, as
well as on a floating army bridge over the Suez Canal under intense
Israeli aerial bombardment. As a child, I once accompanied him on a
journey to an impoverished neighborhood in Cairo to look for an
Egyptian war buddy of his. When we found out that he was long dead, my
father wept. Confused and scared among the ailing buildings, I too
cried. Indeed, the bond between Egyptians and Palestinians is
historical, everlasting, cemented in blood, sweat and tears. Yes,
everlasting, despite the responses of the Egyptian government to the
more recent suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. When the Palestinian
people democratically elected Hamas to lead the Palestinian legislature
in 2006, they were aware of the possible repercussions. They have...